(Clearwisdom.net) I am 58 years old now. Since I began practicing Falun Dafa on April 19, 1998, nine years have passed. During this time, under Teacher's protection, I have become a Dafa disciple of the Fa-rectification period. Recalling those days before the persecution began when we could openly study the Fa together, I realize how precious that time was. Back then, my home was a Fa study site. Over ten practitioners, from young mothers with babies, to an elderly practitioner over eighty-years old, studied the Fa regularly at my home and practiced the exercises in the park. In those days, we all felt we were improving so quickly and so much.
I have a big family (eight people), which provides a good cultivation environment in which I can improve myself. I treat all conflicts in my daily life as opportunities to improve my xinxing. From time to time, I remind myself to behave like a cultivator, always look inward, and think of others first.
In the fall of 1998, my mother-in-law required hospitalization for two weeks, which cost over 10,000 yuan, yet she still wasn't better. When I went to the hospital to visit her, I invited her to come to our home for a while and told her: "I'm practicing a very good qigong. I would be very happy to teach you the Falun Gong exercises." She agreed to try Falun Gong and three days later she left the hospital and came to my home. Two of her sons carried her into the house. I cleaned out my eldest son's room for her. She couldn't walk and had to use a bedpan. She only ate a small amount of food every day. The second day, I turned on Teacher's lecture video for her to watch. She watched one lecture every morning. In the afternoon, she listened to the audio tapes of Teacher lecturing on the Fa. Every day she felt a bit better and managed to eat more. In only a few days, she could sit up. I started teaching her the exercises. After one week, she could stand up. Within a month, and without taking any medication, she was able to walk to her home by herself. Seeing my mother-in-law magically recover, my entire family felt very happy. Teacher had given my mother-in-law a second life. Later, two of my sisters-in-law started practicing Falun Gong.
During my cultivation, I feel that even the smallest improvement I make is due to Teacher's magnificent compassion. Teacher has endured so much for me and settled the debts I accumulated in past lives. Teacher transformed me from a person full of karma to a practitioner of the Fa-rectification period who is on the way to consummation.
But, on July 20, 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong began, and Teacher was slandered. I didn't give up my cultivation, I continued studying the Fa and practicing every single day.
On July 20, 1999, some fellow practitioners and I went to the local provincial Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee to appeal for Falun Gong. All along the way to the office we encountered other Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners acted in a very orderly manner. We were all very quiet. A few hours later, the police ordered buses to take all of the practitioners to a local police academy. We all sat quietly and recited Lunyu together. That place was so righteous while we were there. Later, we were asked to register. At that moment, I didn't want to register, so I just moved through the line, circled the registration desk, and then sat back down. No one noticed that I hadn't registered at all.
In the spring of 2000, my family experienced a messy conflict, as my husband, son, and daughter-in-law began to quarrel. The situation was very tense and my son and his wife were on the verge of getting a divorce. When the problem first started, I told Teacher in my heart: "I will pass this test well. There must be something in this situation for me to focus on in cultivation. I will look inward and give up my attachments." One day at about noon, I cooked lunch and called my daughter-in-law to come and eat. While she was eating I chatted with her and advised her to think about others and to look inwards. She became very angry and smashed her bowl on the floor. I was not moved and cleaned up the mess with a smile. When she came back from work that night, I greeted her like every other day. Teacher said in Zhuan Falun:
"For an everyday person, it is only natural that if you swear at me I will swear at you, and that if you hit me I will hit you back as well. That is an everyday person. Can he be called a practitioner? As a practitioner, without a strong will and self-restraint, you will not be able to do this." (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Later on, my home became the place for all the Falun Gong practitioners nearby to share cultivation experiences and study the Fa. Every few days we got together, shared experiences and studied Teacher's lectures. Every day, I did the exercises right after I got up. At 6 a.m. I sent forth righteous thoughts. In the evening, I would go out to tell people about the persecution. I couldn't go out during the daytime because I looked after two of my grandchildren and did housework. Each evening I would distribute dozens of materials that explained the facts of Falun Gong and the extent of the persecution. Things went very smoothly for me, and I didn't have any thoughts of fear while I was distributing the materials. In 2002 I sprained an ankle, and in the morning it was very hard for me to walk, but by the time I finished distributing the materials that night, my ankle was totally recovered. In my heart, I knew that distributing flyers was my mission and many sentient beings were waiting for me to save them. Back then, it was difficult to obtain enough truth materials, so fellow practitioners would go to other cities to get more. Later, I started to copy truth materials from the Clearwisdom website and used carbon paper to make three or four copies at a time. Then, I would put each copy into a plastic ziplock bag. Wherever I went, I would distribute the truth materials, talk about the persecution, and tell people "Falun Dafa is good."
At the end of 2004, a fellow practitioner was abducted by the police, and while in detention this person gave the police information about me. Later, I was also abducted from my home. When I was released from the detention center, the environment in my family became very tense. My husband began monitoring me every day and didn't allow me to study the Fa, practice the exercises, or contact other practitioners. I knew I couldn't survive even a single day without the Fa. Teacher had pulled me out of hell. I know my true mission in life was to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. I thought about my situation again and again and recited Teacher's lectures to eliminate thought karma. I thought: I'm a Falun Gong practitioner, how could I let ordinary people control my behavior? They are the sentient beings I am to save. With this thought and with Teacher's help, the environment in my family changed immediately. My husband agreed to let me study the Fa and do the practice. He withdrew from the Youth League and Young Pioneers. In the meantime, he also said that his previous behavior had damaged the Fa and was wrong. Thus, I returned to my cultivation path during the Fa-rectification period. Teacher told us:
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
In the past two years, I have been doing the three things with more diligence. I usually get up at 3 a.m. to do the practice. After that, I recite Zhuan Falun or "Lunyu" depending on how much time I have. In the morning while doing housework, I listen to Teacher's lectures and then read articles on the Clearwisdom website. I send forth righteous thoughts ten to thirteen times a day. Every day, I make time to read Clearwisdom articles because Clearwisdom is the place Teacher created for all Falun Dafa practitioners to share experiences. Reading articles on Clearwisdom opens my mind and helps me talk about the goodness of Falun Dafa to people better.
I do my best to discuss the facts about Falun Dafa to the people I meet. Wherever I go, like the market, grocery shopping, etc., I talk about the persecution. I write "Falun Dafa is good" or "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance is good" on paper and bring the papers and other materials with me to advise people to withdraw from the CCP. I talk about Falun Dafa with people in every possible environment. When I talk to people, I try to show my consideration for them by using a hopeful tone. While shopping, if I am given extra change by mistake, I always give it back. People seem surprised that there are still good people like me in society. I tell them I'm good because I'm a Falun Dafa practitioner. I behave according to my Teacher's principle of always considering others first. When I talk about Falun Gong and advise others to withdraw from the CCP, almost everyone accepts my advice.
In the poem The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos Teacher wrote:
"Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in spring
Righteous thoughts can save the people in this world"(from Hong Yin II)
In situations where I can't openly talk about Falun Gong, I send forth righteous thoughts. While I'm walking, I send forth righteous thoughts. As I pass people, I send a thought to help them remember "Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance is good." On the bus or in other public locations, I send forth righteous thoughts, clearing away any thoughts from people's minds that are against Falun Dafa, and help their understanding side want to withdraw from the CCP.
What I presented here is my cultivation path. I know I still have many attachments to cultivate away. I need to be more diligent. I will be more diligent while doing well the three things that Teacher requires us to do. In the last stages of the Fa-rectification, I will do well on my cultivation path, be truly unselfish, and be a true practitioner of the Fa-rectification period.